MAY 11, 2004

Japan Tobacco to be sold

There are reports coming out of Japan that the government is planning to sell 16% of its 66% shareholding in Japan Tobacco, the owner of the Mild Seven brand, which sponsors the Renault F1 team. The government recently signed up to the World Health Organization's anti-tobacco treaty, which makes keeping the stake politically rather difficult. The sale is expected to raise $2.3bn in cash on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Ministry of Finance, which owns the shares, has been waiting to see the stock markets improve before putting the shares up for sale.

It is not clear whether the sale will have any effect on the Mild Seven deal in F1 but it is not going to help the situation.